Senate Debate Roundup: IRAQ

It was a spirited but honorable debate between Missouri's top U.S. Senate candidates at the Lake of the Ozarks today. The buzz afterwards was that there wasn't a clear winner, or knock-out punch from either Jim Talent or Claire McCaskill. Talent went on the offensive first, but McCaskill used much of her allotted time to hit back. But on the issues, they made their differences quite clear.

This begins our roundup of an issue-by-issue look at the debate between Talent and McCaskill. Don't worry 3rd party fans, the Progressive and Libertarian candidates will get their due time in a future separate post.

For now, it's a focus on what Talent and McCaskill said about the top issues presented in the first U.S. Senate debate. This at a time when the latest Rasmussen poll shows McCaskill with a narrow 3-point lead, 45% to 42% over Sen. Jim Talent. Talent led in the last Rasmussen poll in August, 46%-44%. McCaskill led in July and in June they were tied. Get the point?

Back to the debate . . .

We begin with the biggest issue of our time . . .IRAQ.

McCaskill said it's very important the United States change course by beginning redeployment of U.S. troops out of the country and attempting to stabilize the entire region.

"We clearly have not gotten what we were told we were going to get and it's very important to change course," McCaskill said.

"What we can't do though is withdraw either immediately or according to an artificial timetable that has nothing to do with winning, that's just another name for quitting," Talent said.

"My opponent has had a policy of weakness on the war on terror across the board, not only an artificial timetable, but she's opposed to terrorist surveillance . . ."

Talent defined the Iraq mission as removing Saddam Hussein, replacing him with a multi-ethnic democracy that will be an ally in the global war on terror, and helping it get to the point where it can defend itself.

Talent cited major progress in the country, despite all the bad news.
His checklist?

*Removing Saddam
*Creating a government of national unity
*Training 250,000 troops, "which are becoming more and more capable"

"We have to get past this period of sectarian violence and then we'll be on the downside of the mission," Talent said.

But Talent is clear . . . no timetable, period.

What to do next?

"A key thing is a bigger rotation in the Army so our guys and girls don't have to go over two and three times," Talent said.